Take A Hike

Friday

May 16, 2008 at 2:00 AMJan 21, 2011 at 8:50 AM

Photos and story by Thom Larkin Above left: Clay Creek flows into a pool alongside the Oredson-Todd Trail near one of the first bridges. Above right: The trails wind through beautiful forests. Below left: The trail criss-crosses Clay Creek. Below right: Mushrooms are all over the Oredson-Todd Trail. Bottom: A view of the sun rising Thursday morning from the trails above Park Street.

Last week, I shared White Rabbit with trailgoers. This week is part two of the trails on upper Park Street.

Drive south on Siskiyou Boulevard and take a right onto Park Street. You can either park at the bottom of Park and hike to the top or drive to the top of the street and park on the side of the road. From there, you can follow the trail to the left through the field or follow the road straight to the park gate. Do not deviate from the path because the land around the trails is private. Follow the trail to a fork in the path.

Last week, we went to the right to White Rabbit. This week, we will go to the left to the Oredson-Todd Woods and Siskiyou Mountain Preserve Trail System.

Brief info:

This is another beautiful hike at the top of Park Street. There are many different options along the way to make your ideal hike. There are steep, uphill trails leading to great views, as well as quiet trails that follow Clay Creek littered with bridges, biking trails and beautiful old forest growth.

But please stay on the trails. There are crib structures with new plantings that are being constructed to remedy excessive erosion, soil compaction and loss of natural vegetation.

Be aware of poison oak around the trails. Dogs need to be kept on leashes. And hikers recently told me that they have spotted a mother bear and her cubs around the trails, so be careful and respectful of nature.

History:

In 1983, Vincent L. Oredson and John D. Todd donated 10 acres to the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy. Nine years later, the Land Conservancy led a successful fund-raising campaign to support the city of Ashland's purchase of 110 adjoining acres.

These two parcels were then combined with other city-owned land to form nearly 300 acres of protected parks, now known as Oredson-Todd Wood and Siskiyou Mountain Preserve.

In 1999, the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy donated the Oredson-Todd Woods to the city of Ashland.

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